Judge who said toff Oxford student Lavinia Woodward was ‘too brainy for jail’ after stabbing her boyfriend is being investigated by watchdogs
THE judge who said toff Oxford student Lavinia Woodward was “too brainy for jail” after she stabbed her boyfriend is being investigated by watchdogs.
Ian Pringle QC gave the medical student, 24, a suspended sentence for attacking her then partner in a coke and booze-fuelled frenzy.
He said sending her to prison would damage her career.
The judge is now being investigated over his handling of the case.
The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said last night: “The JCIO can confirm they have received a complaint against His Honour Judge Ian Pringle QC.”
Any findings will be published online, added a spokesman.
The watchdog can deal only with complaints about judiciary members’ conduct, not about their decisions or case management.
On Monday, aspiring heart surgeon Woodward was given a ten-month sentence suspended for 18 months after admitting wounding Thomas Fairclough.
She also hurled a laptop, glass and jam jar at him.
Campaigners blasted the decision. Mark Brooks, of the Mankind initiative that supports male victims of domestic violence, slammed it as “unacceptable”.
